Unchained Melody
by BROE4EVER1
Summary: (Brady/Chloe) An event in Chloe's life causes her to reach out to Brady. They become engaged in a romance, but are suddenly interuppted when life takes another tragic turn. Are their fates so entwined that they can survive anything? Even...death?
1. Prologue: Chapter 1

A/N: Hello all! This fiction is the product of a fan fic challenge posted by Indiegurl. I picked this title because it was a song in [i]Ghost[/i], at least that's what it says on my parents' [i]Romantic Hollywood Hits[/i] cd. I also chose it because and unchained melody will play a part in this story…if that makes any sense to you, lol. Also, sorry that I haven't updated any other fics. Aside from being roadblocked and extremely busy, not to mention virtually internetless, I'm a victim to acute laziness. Anyway, I guess you should hereby be warned that this story will be sort of sad, hopefully that will not scare you off from reading it! Well, I guess that's all I really have to say…it won't be A/U which is usually the direction I take with stories so all characters, families, etc. are the same. I will probably explain past events through the course of the story not because you guys don't know about them, but because it will make the story more complete. That is all, and thank you for reading in advance! (  
  
Luv ya'll!  
  
~Tonya  
  
Unchained Melody  
  
Prologue: Chapter 1  
  
The white walls and floor of the testing room appeared to glisten in the bright light. In the corner of the small room was a table holding blood samples and needles, while in the center, beneath a large lamp was a flat, rolling bed. A single white sheet covered that hard matress, stiff with starch, as if its years of wear did nothing to soften it.  
  
A doctor led the tall, blue-eyed brunette into the room, closing the double doors behind them. The two square windows set high in the doors were the only connection to life outside of that small space. The brunette sat down slowly onto the hard matress, rolling the sleeve of her sweater up as far as she could. The doctor rummaged around in the corner through a selection of needles, pulling an antibacterial wipe from a compartment on the table and walking back towards his patient. He wiped a small area of her arm then inserted the needle, drawing an entire vile of blood. The brunette winced slightly but said nothing. After this test she would be free to continue her life as a normal girl, or however close she ever was to being one.  
  
Withdrawing the needle from her arm, the doctor patted it lightly with a cotton swab then walked away into the corner again, labeling the sample and capping it. The brunette rolled her sleeve down and swung her legs over the side of the bed, watching the doctor. He finally turned around and nodded at her, holding the sample protectively in his hand. The girl jumped off the bed and walked towards the doors, swinging one open and stepping back out into the steady rhythm of the Salem Hospital. The doctor walked into another room leading off to the labs, leaving her to make her way back to her family feeling somewhat relieved. That test left her with nothing to worry about but her audition for Julliard, an important part of her life that meant leaving that very night for New York.  
  
All that was left to do now was to wait for her test results which would only prove how wrong her parents were for worrying, and she would be well on her way to becoming famous in the world of opera.  
  
Little did she know what her simple sample of blood would reveal to her and whomever else it concerned. Little did she know it wasn't something pleasant, and little did she know that the test results would change her life forever. 


	2. Prologue: Chapter 2

Unchained Melody  
  
Prologue: Chapter 2  
  
Chloe Lane sat quietly on her bed, staring at the pile of clothes siting in her suitcase. She could hear her mother moving around in the room beside her own, frantically packing her own belongings. Suddenly she no longer felt a longing to be shipped off to New York, but she could not explain the reason. Perhaps it was due to the prolonged virus she had. Hopefully her blood test would reveal what type of cold or influenza she had, then perhaps she could find some sort of drug that would stop her dizzy spells. She'd also been told that she had fainted a few times, but there was no recollection in her mind of such happenings. Nonetheless, no person in their right mind would be able to pull off an audition in her condition. There was no way.  
  
The loud ringing of the doorbell made its way up the stairs through Chloe's open doorway. The brunette's immediately darted over to her window. She stood up slowly and walked over, pushing up the glass and popping her head out into the open air.  
  
Brady's familiar jeep sat parked on the curb in front of the Wesley house. Chloe felt her lips turn upwards in a small smile. She hadn't been expecting any visitors, especially this close to her departure for New York. She looked farther out her window and saw Brady standing just beneath her on the doorstep, his hands stuck in his pockets as they almost always were. It was his classic pose. He apparently didn't notice the fact that he was being watched, at least not from above. In fact, if he had been aware of it, then it might have given him a peculiar feeling, as if something paranormal were happening. And that paranormal thing would stir him up inside, because he would think he was being watched by someone very high, like and angel. He had always believed in them. His mother was an angel.  
  
Chloe drew back from the window and closed it gently. She pushed her half- open suitcase out of her way and climbed silently down the stairs. Ironically enough Nancy had already answered the door. Chloe slowed her pace. What was this? No screaming?  
  
Brady stood casually in front of Mrs. Wesley, a smile on his face. They were conversing in a rather pleasant manner, or so it seemed. Nevertheless, it was a civil moment. Maybe Nancy was finally growing up, Chloe thought to herself as she hobbled down the least step. Both pairs of eyes were glued on her immediately. About to greet them, Chloe suddenly got another wave of dizziness. She held onto the stair rail and tried to steady herself.  
  
"Chloe honey, Chloe! Are you alright?" Nancy asked, bustling over to her daughter. She wasn't able to act as if nothing were wrong with her daughter. She knew that that was what her husband had insisted she do, but he must have forgotten the fact that this was their only daughter and whatever was wrong with her seemed a little more serious than a cold or anaemia. "Maybe we should postpone this trip, just for a few days…"  
  
Chloe steadied herself and shook her head. "No, Nancy. I am not missing this audition! I don't care if I have some petty little sickness. This is something I want and am going to do." She turned her raven head and noticed for the first time that Brady had his eyes glued on her. "Oh, sorry…" She said slowly. "Hi, Brady." She smiled slightly. "I wasn't expecting you."  
  
Brady nodded and returned her smile. "Well, I just thought that maybe I'd drop by before you had to leave for New York, you know, to wish you luck…so…good luck." He dug his hands into his pockets again.  
  
Chloe stood quietly for a moment. "Thanks." She said simply. The fact of the matter was she didn't really know what else to say to Brady at that moment. Maybe she could have planned for this, but obviously there was no way she could have. She didn't want to let Brady go at that, either. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy having him around. The thought that perhaps he could have accompanied her to New York had crossed her mind more than a couple times. He had been her teacher, and that in itself was an accomplishment, considering the fact that they did nothing but argue for months after they'd met.  
  
Nancy tapped her foot impatiently and looked down at her watch. "Craig should be back by now. If we want to make this flight…"  
  
"I could drive you, Mrs. Wesley."  
  
Nancy looked up from her watch and gave Brady a curious look, as if this were something she would not have expected. She was too quick to judge, as she almost always was. But she did have reason this time, at least in her own mind. Brady was related to Phillip, and that boy had brought nothing worth while into her daughter's life. Though blood is thicker than water, she continually failed to see that there are more than a few flaws in every family.  
  
"If Craig does not show up in the next five minutes, then I suppose I will have to take up your offer, Brady." Nancy sniffed. Then she turned towards Chloe. "Are you sure you're alright Chloe?"  
  
Chloe nodded. "Nothing is going to keep me from this audition, Nancy. Noth-- "  
  
And suddenly there was something that would keep her from that audition. Her eyelids fell over her eyes and she fell into darkness. Brady caught her, but she didn't know that. Chloe was completely out of it. Nancy's eyes grew wider with fear. Fear for her daughter's life. She knew she had her mother's intuition. She'd been right. There was something wrong with her daughter.  
  
"We need to get her to the hospital right now…" Brady said, lifting Chloe up into his arms. He could feel her temperature slowly decreasing. He wouldn't let her go, not now. Not now that they'd come so far in their relationship. He bolted out to his car as Nancy ran out behind him, flailing her arms frantically.  
  
Something was really wrong. 


	3. Prologue: Chapter 3

Unchained Melody  
  
Prologue: Chapter 3  
  
Chloe's opened one eye, looking up at the tiled ceiling. She slowly followed with her other eye and sat up quickly. The sudden movement resulted in a head rush, and quite a large one at that. Hours of lying dormant in a strange environment startled Chloe, though she did not know it had been hours. Her eyes took in the room, from the small beside table to the leather one-seaters to the large window, covered half-way by a translucent salmon curtain. She had a vague recollection of falling into something, but she could not quite recall what it was. Though that was hardly her biggest worry. She moved a strand of dark hair from her eyes and sat up more slowly, still unaware of where she was.  
  
A steady beam of light shone in through the window out of the darkness. The moon stood high in the sky. Chloe's eyes rested on the clock set on the wall directly across from her. Feeling her throat constrict at the realization that it was after nine o'clock. Could it be that she was on a plane, well on her way to New York? She looked out the window again. A solid looking row of building sat motionless beneath the twinkling stars. She turned back slowly to the clock and stared at it for a few more minutes. Maybe it was a trick.  
  
The more she watched that clock and heard the faint bustling outside her door, the more she came to realize that she was not on a plane to Julliard. She realized also that she was going to miss her Master's audition. What else did she notice? That there was a sharp pain shooting up the palm of her hand whenever it touched the soft mattress she was sitting on.  
  
Chloe lifted her hand slowly so that her palm was facing upward. Where she expected to find a scratch or a cut, she found a bruise. And it was the fact that she had a bruise in the palm of her hand, the unlikeliest of all places, was what suddenly scared her. She was not in a plane, nor in some secret room in her home that she had never seen before. She looked over at the unused IV sitting beside her bed. She was in the hospital.  
  
Brady sat silently in the lounge with a few other people, waiting patiently in the midst of a building full of sick people. They must have been here before, Brady thought, wondering how they could be so calm. Brady was more scared than he had ever been in his life. Chloe hadn't only fainted this time…she had had a seizure right in his arms. It was a frightening experience to have to go through, and any other would probably have dropped the person on the spot. Brady on the other hand had refused to put her down on the hospital bed when he and Nancy had arrived there. For some strange reason he felt as if he would be letting her go into a world she couldn't comprehend. He needed to be there for her, because he knew that there was something seriously wrong with her.  
  
Brady shuffled in his seat and fell asleep for a while, for a time leaving the world and drifting off into some other place.  
  
[i] "What is this?" Brady asked, picking up a small sheet of paper. On it was a phone number, that he knew. But he could not read the numbers because they jumped across the page. Nancy's voice could be heard talking somewhere, off in the distance. She appeared beside him and gasped when she saw the sheet of paper he was holding.  
  
"Brady Black!" She screamed. "How could you do this to my daughter! You've just signed her death warrant! You Kirkiakises are all the same! I hope this makes you happy because it's the last happy moment you'll ever have!"  
  
With that the enraged woman disappeared into thin air, her voice echoing off into nothingness. Brady dropped the paper and stepped into the mist surrounding him. He could see a dark form in the distance. As he neared it, it became clearer and clearer until he could see exactly what it was.  
  
Chloe's lifeless form, lain peacefully in a bed strewn with flower petals. Her skin was pale and her face was guant. He wanted to run, but something held him there. Chloe's eyes opened slowly. She sat up mechanically and looked over at Brady. She grinned before falling to pieces. [/i]  
  
Brady's eyes shot open instantly. He remembered his horrific dream part by part. Rubbing his tired eyes, he stood up. He would not sleep again, not if that was what he was to see. But what did it mean? It must have meant something. It had to have.  
  
He walked slowly through the halls. Visiting hours were way over, and only half-crazed patients and family members plagued the corridors.  
  
"Craig! Show me the results now!" Nancy screamed. Brady whirled around to see Nancy yelling at her husband down the hall. Craig held a blue folder in his hands while Nancy tried frantically to take it from him. "She's my daughter! I need to know what the results are!" Craig placed a finger to his lips.  
  
"Come into my office."  
  
"You're office?" Nancy said, drawing back from his husband. She knew in that moment that it was something bad, Brady felt that too. Nancy immediately quieted and looked more like a scared little girl as she entered Dr. Wesley's office. As soon as the door closed, Brady hurried over to the door. As soon as he got there he heard Nancy start screaming at the top of her lungs. He stepped back from the door. Craig had told her what the results were. He needed to know, too.  
  
Nancy's shrieks eventually turned into a steady wailing. Brady walked slowly back towards the lounge and sat down. He didn't know why he was so concerned about Belle's friends, but he was. Though not one of them as mattered as much to him as Chloe Lane did. He couldn't explain it either. It was an instant connection, one he wasn't sure he could handle. It seemed he was always worrying about her. Now he knew he would have an ever bigger task to accomplish.  
  
Though being with Chloe could have been stressful, it was the best five minutes of his day…or however long he chose to spend with her. It didn't surprise him that he slowly began to fall in love with her over the summer, when all her friends had gone off on their summer trip. Though he denied it, he knew that a lot of people could see right through him. Basically, that was everyone except for Chloe. She still saw him as a good friend, nothing more. But still, that would not bother Brady at that moment, because at that moment, they both had much more important things to worry about, like someone's health.  
  
Chloe sat quietly in the hospital bed, looking down at her hands. She was going to miss her audition. She wasn't going to make it into her Master's class. She couldn't even stand up out of her bed. Her palm was bruised. She was dizzy.  
  
She needed help, and a lot of it. That she could see. No longer could she deny this sickness. She waited for someone to pull her out of that hospital bed and take her to Julliard. She needed to get to New York. She needed to get better.  
  
Most importantly, she needed someone to help her get through it all. 


	4. Prologue: Chapter 4

Unchained Melody  
  
Prologue: Chapter 4  
  
Brady paced nervously around the lounge, He had thought about going in to see Chloe, but he noticed that neither one of the Wesley's had. That made him wonder if he would even be allowed in to see her. For the time being, he decided to stay put and wait until he was given the OK.  
  
Craig and Nancy exited the Wesley office about five minutes after Brady had decided not to see Chloe. They were headed straight for her room. Brady immediately leapt to his feet and took off after them, but was abruptly stopped by Craig. Nancy shuffled past her husband to enter the room but Craig gently pushed her back.  
  
"I need to speak with my daughter privately." He said in a business-like tone.  
  
"Craig! Surely you don't mean that!" Nancy said, half-laughing but very panicked. Craig responded that he did in fact mean what he had said. Nancy's lips formed their natural frowning expression. "Let me in." She said in a low whisper.  
  
"Nancy, go sit down in the lounge with Brady."  
  
At this point, Brady could no longer hold his own words in. He brushed passed Nancy and faced Craig. "I need to go in to see Chloe, to see if she is alright. I'm sure it would do no harm to see her. After all, she is going to miss her audition. Don't you know how much that meant to her?"  
  
"Yes I know." Craig answered simply. "But it is my duty as a doctor to speak with Chloe at this time. Please leave me for a few minutes."  
  
Brady stood still alongside Nancy for a moment, then sauntered back to the lounge with Nancy tight at his heels, biting her lip and pulling at the sleeved of her shirt in a nervous way. It made Brady feel creepy, as if the woman was going insane. He put a fair distance between them as they chose seats in the lounge.  
  
As for Craig, he slipped into Chloe's room and closed the door with a soft click. Chloe looked normal in her bed, but she seemed a little dazed, still watching the clock and looking at the bruises on her hand. Craig's mind was rushing. Should he tell her? Would it be a mistake? He pondered the thought, a mental battle raging in his head.  
  
Chloe's eyes travelled from her palm to her step-father, standing off to the corner of the room with a clipboard in his hands. He eyed it suspiciously, as if searching for the tiniest mistake. Craig eventually must have felt her eyes on him because he lifted them slowly to meet Chloe's. He had no smile to give her though, which came as a bit of a shock to Chloe. It was seldom she ever talked to Craig when he didn't have a smile on his face. He seemed unusually grim, and Chloe really began to wonder if he knew anything about her health problems.  
  
Craig looked over the clipboard in his hands, reading over the results one last time. He sighed and looked at Chloe.  
  
"I'm afraid I have some bad news…" He said in the formalest way he could. "You are anaemic."  
  
Chloe pulled a face. If anaemia caused all of this, then why was it that so many people had it without knowing? She looked at Craig in a strange way, trying to read his eyes, but they were quickly lowered to the clipboard again as he once again scanned the surface of his results paper.  
  
"Then it's alright to leave the hospital and still make my audition?" She asked slowly, somewhat timidly, as if dreading the answer she was most likely to receive.  
  
"Um…I'm afraid not, Chloe."  
  
"Why not? If it's only anaemia…." She responded, trying to reason with him. It surely couldn't require a prolonged stay at the hospital or a huge medical treatment.  
  
Craig bit his lip. Chloe knew immediately her was hiding something from her. "There's more, isn't there Craig? Don't lie to me, I can see right through you."  
  
Brady glanced over at Nancy. She looked very stressed, as if sitting in the lounge while her daughter was talking to her step-father was more than she could bear. Then again, she probably knew something that he didn't know. That made him even edgier than before. If Chloe were to, presuming the worst of course, become very ill and perhaps even leave him, then what would he do? She knew nothing of his feelings for her, nor would she ever know to what lengths he would go to protect her. He would show her, he decided. He couldn't hide it any longer, not if reality set in and Chloe was facing a terrible fate. He would face it with her.  
  
Nancy twisted a magazine into a roll, turning it in her hands over and over until they were red. The shiny surface squeaked beneath her fingers. She seemed somewhat detached from the world. Brady would not have expected less…if only he knew what she most definitely did. He wanted to help Chloe.  
  
Chloe sat in shocked silence, perfectly still as if she had already faced her destiny. Craig was silent as well, watching her with utmost concern. Chloe needed to know what she was in for, and now that she did, Craig was not so sure he had been smart to tell her. He half-expected Chloe to laugh at his diagnosis, but she believed every word. It had to be true, why would Craig be lying about something as serious as what he had just told her?  
  
Chloe moved her eyes to the door, the little glass square her only connection to the world. It reminded her of a time about half a day earlier when she had been in the testing room, so certain that her life was not going to be affected by her test results. How wrong she had been about that.  
  
And as her blue eyes studied that little glass window in the door, though not letting hear the sound outside in the hall, gave her a strange feeling. Maybe, one day, someone who could save her would walk through that door and tell her what a huge mistake had been made.  
  
As she kept watching the door, all things around her fading into oblivion, she saw Brady press his face against the glass and look in at her. 


End file.
